Abstract: Articles, correspondence, syllabi, and clippings documenting sociologist Barry M. Dank's professional involvement with the
issue of social and personal acceptance of gay identity. In 1971, Dank, a professor at California State University, Long Beach,
published an article in the journal
Psychiatry that argued notions of homosexual deviance would wane in the face of increasing acceptance of same-sex sexuality as a legitimate
way of life.

creator:
Dank, Barry M.

Biographical Note

Barry M. Dank was a sociologist at California State University, Long Beach whose 1971 article in the journal
Psychiatry, "Coming Out in the Gay World," forecast the growing acceptance of same-sex sexuality as a legitimate mode of life, as opposed
to deviance from a norm.

Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In order to provide access to this collection, minimal processing on this collection was expedited in 2011. Date spans were
given wherever possible, but do not reflect the most accurate inclusive dates.

Scope and Content

Articles, clippings, corespondence, and syllabi documenting sociologist Barry M. Dank's early work exploring "coming out and
issues of gay identity." In 1971, Dank, a professor of sociology at California State University, Long Beach, published an
article in the journal
Psychiatry arguing that steadily increasing acceptance of homosexuality as a way of life would result in waning notions of same-sex
sexuality as deviance. The collection documents exchanges of correspondence with academic colleagues; correspondence with
Jim Kepner and other gay activists in Los Angeles; and Dank's sociology courses focusing on homosexuality.